Since my first dog portrait in 1999, my goal as an artist has been to elevate animal portraiture to the level of human portraiture. Animals have no religion, politics, money, or philosophy, which makes them honest or "open" subjects to work with, since they lack any sort of human agenda.

Animals also seem to offer us an opportunity to join them in the present moment at any given time, since that is exactly and always where they live. They don't exist in their heads, ruminating backward and forward in time, as we do.

Whether my subject is a canine, cow or a black rhino, my hope is that my work offers the viewer, in some small way, what animals have the power to do in person: to inspire us to be exactly where we are, to encourage a suspended moment in which we don’t have to necessarily think or understand, but instead feel and connect.

Born in Philadelphia, PA, Aimée lives and works in southern California.